Chương 10: Croton Lechleri

The boots Kayzen had bought from the expedition party sank foot deep into the layer of spongy moss. This wasn't his first time travelling in the forest, yet the place had become almost unfamiliar to him. He raised his hand to block off the pillar of sunlight and looked at the vegetation ahead. The entire forest was brimming with vitality. Be it the plants that had grown taller or the insects that were buzzing incessantly, all pointed in the single direction: Mutation.

It wasn't as severe as Greenford due to the lack of ether node in the vicinity, still, it wasn't something normal people could deal with. For a moment Kayzen thought about the people of Greenford and how they might be doing. There were many familiar faces he was concerned for; but in the end they all had their own paths to follow. For him, this forest was a fascinating sight to behold. A process that should take millions of years was now happening right in front of his eyes.

'Of course, beauty is proportional to danger.' Kayzen knew that this was the basic law of surviving in jungle. For example, the places infested with bugs were in fact safer. It was the beautiful trees and occasional silent areas that caused his spine to tingle. Anyone who was able to mark their territory in this place was bound to be someone powerful. Every time he arrived near such places he didn't hesitate to use phantom shift and retreat to a safe distance.

'Let's see… I'm close to reaching the inner area.' Kayzen took another glance at the map and placed it back in his pocket. In all honesty he didn't believe that the map was of any use except for giving him a vague direction. This place was marked as a suburb, but even a blind man could tell that this was anything but that. The pillars of sunlight formed by the canopy of trees were getting sparser by the minute.

A part of Kayzen's brain was occupied with observing the surroundings, while the rest of his thoughts were focused on how to improve his strength.

'I have three shards right now, but none of them are particularly excellent at combat.' Phantom shift would become a lethal attack if used in close combat, but Kayzen knew where his expertise lay. He didn't plan to become an assassin or even get anywhere close to the enemy. Why would he, when his hex could do the job? The phantom shift was thus relegated to evasion and support. The same was true for pain resistance since he wasn't going to use it to train his physique or anything of the sort.

He picked it up so as to not feel 'pain' under critical conditions, and that's where he planned on using it. This left the first shard that allowed him to extract records. It had great utility without a doubt, but again, it lacked primary offence. There was a difference in using evasive or support shards to attack compared to having a specialized one. There was one more thing to consider as well: No one in this jungle would give him the time to prepare a hex.

Kayzen unwrapped a leafy package and placed a sweet, lemon-flavored candy in his mouth. The alternating bouts of sweet and sour sensations freshened up his spirits in an instant. Despite all his self-addressed flaws, he knew just how much potential his path had. This forest brimming with danger was akin to an armory for him. He looked around for a while and finally found a place that was decent enough to rest.

The trees around were occupied by gentle natured sparrows while the ground was clear of bugs, as the sparrows weren't gentle with their food. There was the foul smell of bird excretion and decaying matter, but that was a given. All in all Kayzen was satisfied with this location. He kicked away the leaves and dried branches to place his Hemogaster backpack down. For the next part, he had to choose what to take out from the backpack/stomach by sensing ether.

Kayzen focused on his senses and merged them with the flow of Ether. It was easier said than done since ever since entering the forest, he was feeling as if a static current was flowing through his skin. The laylines were disturbed in this region. There were some scary implications for that, yet at the moment Kayzen focused on taking out one of the books he had brought along. He inserted his hand glowing with a faint blue color into the bag's entrance and reached out for the thick tome he visualized.

Soon, his hand exited the backpack with another object clutched in his palm. - Forest Encyclopaedia of Algasia Empire Kayzen sat down under the tree's shade and began flipping through the pages. Wherever he found something interesting; he marked the pages with scribbles only he would recognize. This was a common book found in all of the empire's mage towers and even some pharmacies. Yet in his hands, it would soon become a catalog of hexes. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent.

Report any sightings. … After a couple of hours, Kayzen was once again walking towards the southwest. His target was the Ironheart town that lay beyond the Elgon pass. Even on normal days this would be a lengthy trip, much less now.

'And it looks like things will get even more troublesome.' Kayzen furrowed his grey eyebrows while looking at the forest ahead. So far he had attributed the chaotic flow of ether to akashic records and other changes happening on Erde. But now, things were getting familiar. He knelt down and touched the moist soil with his hand. With increased vitality there should be bugs or moss on the ground, yet they were nowhere to be seen. The same was true for fallen branches and carcasses of other small animals.

'This isn't just some disturbance caused by laylines.' Kayzen slowed his pace and took each step after deliberate observation. No amount of cautiousness would be enough if what he had guessed was correct. Ether nodes were formed where laylines connected. Such places with rich ether concentration were good for constructing cities and strongholds. However, this was the case for the civilian type ether node. The Seven were impartial.

Just like there were nodes that suited humans, there also existed nodes that were inhabited by monsters and other races; known as the hazard-type. Before he could think further Kayzen caught a sight that made him halt his steps. At a place thirty feet north lay a silver skinned tree. It stuck out like a sore thumb since all around it was darkness caused by the canopy of taller trees.

'A great find!' Despite the excitement, Kayzen first entered phantom shift and surveyed the surroundings. Only after making sure that there was no threat nearby did he drop the Hemogaster backpack and took out various tools. Shovel, Axe, Great sword, Pots and pans… there were all sorts of things he had bought from the expedition group. He hadn't thought about it much, but at this moment he really missed having someone's company. As unimaginable as it might sound, this was the first time he was travelling alone.

Even during his academia missions or when he snuck away as a child, there had always been guards following his shadows.

"Well, this is exciting as well," Kayzen muttered to himself and moved towards the tree with an axe in hand. The tree in front of him was 'croton lechleri', or the dragon's blood as the common folk called it. While exaggerated, there was a reason why it was given such a grandiose name. Kayzen shifted his foot backward and took on the swinging posture. After steadying his breath, he took a full swing at the thinnest branch of the tree.

"Damn, I overestimated myself," Kayzen cursed and nearly dropped the axe. His whole arm was stinging from the impact. He had severed the branch in a choppy manner, but the pitiful sap that fell off seemed to be mocking him. Kayzen took a few steps back and placed the smallest pot beneath the crimson sap. He changed weapons to see if anything was better at the job. He wouldn't dare be so reckless under normal circumstances, but fortunately or not, there wasn't a living animal in sight.

For an entire hour a silver haired man hacked at the silver tree. Finally, all of the crimson sap was extracted.

"Keb's ashes, that was exhausting." Kayzen sat down on the damp soil and gulped down the fresh water of Sambia. Looking at the collected sap he knew the efforts were more than worth it. After a brief rest he took out the cauldron and started boiling the collected sap. The crimson fluid contained taspine and other compounds which were good for stitching and healing wounds. This wasn't something he could make a hex with or use it in a fight, but who said that was all what a warlock could do?

Unlike the templars and crusaders who had various blessings to recover, the warlocks had to rely on themselves. A thick and bitter scent wafted out from the cauldron. Kayzen stirred the pot and soon, the contents were separated into two parts. Above was a clear liquid while at the bottom was red sludge. He packed them both and stored them in the backpack. Now, he had another card up his sleeve in case he got injured. After a brief rest he once again resumed his journey.

The scenes of eerie wilderness further affirmed his decision on getting an offensive shard. He could always use a core and take the easy way out, but he didn't choose to do so. Each shaper only had one chance to use a core. Before Akashic records, that was the only way they could understand more about the Ether and elements. The reason he didn't use the phantom crocodile and the gorilla's core was related to this as well; he already had a target in mind.

Compared to the native creatures of Erde, he was more interested in the Hemogaster that descended from the rift in the sky. Perhaps Gaia was pleased with him today, as not long after he found another rare plant. The appearance of the vine with finger-like pods caused his red eyes to shine with excitement.

'Finally, something I can use to attack.' He didn't need to scout the area this time since the sixty feet vine was the sole living thing that existed in the vicinity. Even the trees it coiled around were devoid of vitality. Kayzen's hairs stood on end as he observed the silent scene. He was familiar with this plant called the 'ordeal bean'. It was famous for its beans that looked like closed eyelids and its toxic properties. Not to mention that this vine was far from normal.

It might not look as threatening as the bugs that attacked Greenford, but this mutated vine was a hundred times more lethal. There was no such thing as being too cautious around it.

'The spookiest part is that there isn't a single dead bug or animal near the vine.' Kayzen took a deep breath and walked closer. He couldn't afford to let his guard down. After collecting some fallen leaves he immediately retreated from the vine's shadow. This time, he was going to practise another type of hex. What better target could there be compared to a plant that couldn't run away? He sat cross legged on the ground and placed all the leaves before him in a small pile.

All this while he had been using external sources to craft his hex. What he planned to do now was use his own records to suppress the ordeal bean. A deep purple glow emerged from his palms and covered the pile of leaves. Under the effect of Ether and his shard, blurry records of the plant became tangible in his eyes. They were much weaker yet abundant compared to the butterflies he had slain.

'The medium is there, and so is the target.' Kayzen took a deep breath and closed his eyes. All that was left was the source, himself.